catbarf on 17/12/2009 at 02:36
As of a few minutes ago, I finally got my Windows 98 box fully working. Hooray.
The problem is, it gets 5-10 FPS in Heavy Gear II. This is not playable.
It's a PII processor, 384MB RAM, and an ATI 3D Rage graphics card.
Basically, I'd like to be able to play my old games at good framerates, and so I want to upgrade. The trouble is, I have no idea what hardware I can use with Windows 98 that's new enough to run the games well while old enough to support the software. I wasn't old enough to know anything about computers back then, so I have no idea what to look for.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Ladron De La Noche on 17/12/2009 at 05:32
If you have Win98se, install this service pack (
http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html) link. I used it many times while using 98se up until 2005. It's good. :)
So its PCI or AGP slot mobo?
catbarf on 17/12/2009 at 11:08
AGP. I'm not exactly sure on the name of the motherboard. I'll take a look later.
bikerdude on 17/12/2009 at 14:40
Quote Posted by catbarf
As of a few minutes ago, I finally got my Windows 98 box fully working. Hooray.
It's a PII processor, 384MB RAM, and an ATI 3D Rage graphics card.
Hmm, at the very least upgrade the ram to 1gb and upgrade the gfx card to a Radeon X800 or X1650. Or if you can get a faster cpu if the mobo supports it, what the make and model of the mobo..?
lost_soul on 17/12/2009 at 17:13
How old are the games you want to play? I'll bet the issue is with that video card. We used to play games at school ten years ago on machines with ATI Rage Pro cards that had a whopping 4 megs of memory. The card was the limiting factor, because my home machine at the time (equipped with a Voodoo 3) ran circles around the school PCs. You may want to pick up an old 3dfx card on ebay, or if you prefer real 32-bit color in games you can get a RIVA TNT2.
The voodoo always delivered smooth gameplay, up until Quake 3 arena.
catbarf on 17/12/2009 at 20:45
Ah, yes. I figured it might be the GFX card, as the other specs are right about the recommended for HG2. It could be the mobo at play, but that's a whole new can of worms and since I can't figure out how to detach any of the drives from this goddamned case and therefore can't replace the motherboard, I'll probably order a TNT2.
Edit: Is 16MB sufficient, or should I go with 32MB?
Edit 2: The heatsink on the processor is a big ugly thing and I don't want to have to deal with that- will I be fine with the PII, or will it severely limit me?
lost_soul on 17/12/2009 at 23:20
If it isn't much more expensive, why not go for the 32 MB version? I have a couple of Pentium II 400 MHz chips here and a multi-cpu motherboard that I've never used. I've actually thoguht about sending them to be microwaved by the "is it a good idea to microwave this?" guys on youtube. :)
catbarf on 18/12/2009 at 00:05
Yeah, I went ahead and bought a 32MB because the difference is small. I also ordered quite a bit more RAM. I'm really excited to be able to play Heavy Gear, Wing Commander IV, and Independence War again- lots of nostalgia in those titles.
